


A Different Path

by MeltyCat



Category: Astro Boy, Tetsuwan Atom | Astro Boy
Genre: Child Loss, Drama, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Redemption, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:28:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21721465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltyCat/pseuds/MeltyCat
Summary: AU version based around the 2003 Astro Boy show.What would happen if things didn't happen the way they were expected? What if life for Dr Tenma was different after creating Astro? What if robots and humans can have significant relationships?
Relationships: /Rachel Prince, Delta/Rhiley, Dr Tenma, Nagamiya Tenma/Rachel Prince, Umataro Tenma/Rachel Prince
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	A Different Path

**Author's Note:**

> This story is actually a roleplay that is currently ongoing between myself and a friend. I will be slowly converting it bit by bit when I can much like with my other fics.
> 
> This is based on the 2003 show, but is more of an AU. The plot twists in different ways, but still follows the bare bones of the original.
> 
> Things are a smidge different. For example, the Eagle building is a little smaller than usual providing resonable conversation possibilities and there are new areas to the city, as well as new buildings.
> 
> I play:
> 
> Delta  
> Rachel Prince  
> Epsilon
> 
> Thatredheadedchick12 plays:
> 
> Dr Tenma  
> Ochan  
> Rhiley McClain
> 
> All other characters are universally played.

Just another day. Another day another robot made, another test for Tobio. No. Astro. He could not shake this habit. Heck he didn't want to. His son was gone, but he had attempted to right a wrong. Was he so bad in doing so? It had been months since he kicked the young robot out. And how he regretted it. But this will fix it. He will help his creation grow.

He stood atop of the building that contained his lab, watching the chaos unfold, arms crossed over his chest as he stared out across the city. Very little interested him these days. Heck half the time he forgot to eat. But this? This gave him life. If he could just help astro realize his true potential? Perhaps... Just maybe...

Rachel had finished her shift. She worked as a barista at a local hot drinks shop which marketed itself on being retro. They kept human employees despite the fact that in that day and age it was always all robots. Sure, they had robot waiters, but the staff making the drinks were all human. It was a fun, bright and quirky place and she enjoyed it, even if it was tiring.

As always, she left work and trudged her way slowly home. She didn't use transport like the majority of the city dwellers. She enjoyed using her legs. Heck, the scenery was always nice to look at and the air was clean anyway, what with the advancement of alternative fuel sources.

She wandered her usual direction past the park which overlooked the city from up on a ridge beside the Eagle building, a tall, foreboding structure that aalways loomed in the skyline like a thorn on a rose. It belonged, but it sure did seem a lot more dark in design that the rest of the buildings in Metro City.

She slowly slumped down onto the bench that overlooked the city skyline and she supped on her take away drink happily as she watched the comings and goings of the residents in their cars riding along the tubes. It was beautiful, but suddenly there was commotion. What was happening!? Robots?! Fighting!? She wanted to get to her feet, but she felt frozen to the spot as she watched in alarm.

That was Astro! She'd heard about him and seen him on TV a few times. He was an astounding piece of modern technology, but why was he... Suddenly, a piece of debris flew past her head and she had to duck behind the bench for safety.

"Holy crap!"

He was doing well. So well. Dr. Tenma watched on, his coat blowing around him as Astro took on the behemoth he had built recently. All in the name of science. It was all for the greater good. He was this boy's creator and yet even he did not know the limitations. This was incredible. A break through in technology. He needed to push. He needed to know just how far he could go... All in the name of science.

He watched on as his creations fought. Astounding. He would have to make a few adjustments. 

He watched as an explosion erupted, lighing up the evening skies.

From behind the bench, Rachel watched as an explosion tore through the sky sending debris scattering everywhere. Well, so much for the pizza shop further south. It'd be mashed for sure.

She peered through the gaps in the wood slats and watched as Astro finally beat the hulking hunk of metal, but he seemed almost sad to do it. In fact, he even tried to help it up when he'd done.

She shook her head in confusion. The thing had tried to kill him, what was he thinking? It didn't matter anyway, the bot was definitely not getting back up again. Slowly, she moved back from behind the bench and sat back down to try and regain her composure. What a crazy sight that was.

Dr. Tenma watched as the battle reached its conclusion in a most explosive manner. He closed his eyes, his head lowering a bit as he let out a sigh through his nose.

Close. He was too close now. It was incredible, the progress he had made... To watch this robot show... empathy to its own kind like it has... No. He needed more data. He needed better results. He needed... more. To push him just a bit further.

He had barely noticed as sirens blared through the city as the fire and rescue stormed the scene.

She had no idea what she was even doing there still, but it was as if she couldn't move. She watched as the whole thing was dealt with, as Astro tried his best to calm the Inspector down. That man was blowing a gasket. He was clearly ranting and raving at the poor bot, but what could he have done? Would he have preferred it if Astro had have turned a blind eye and watched the entire city burn? Idiot...

She sighed and got to her feet, took one more look around and instantly caught sight of a figure on the top of the bulding. Was... Was he about to JUMP!?

"Hey! You up there!" She couldn't stand by and do nothing. "Are you OK!?"

Tenma was about to retreat into the eagle shaped abode he was stood on when he heard a voice. It was barely audible. It wad as though yhe wind had carried it. He looked around confused before he finally looked down to see a speck of a being standing there. He was just able to make out that it was in fact a feminine being, hense the light voice...

He furrowed his brow as her words resonated within his head. Did she just ask if he were okay?

"And why wouldnt I be?" He all but yelled his words, despite normally being rather quiet and soft-spoken. It was a pretty tall building, after all.

She had no idea if he'd even heard her. It was quite a way up. The building was huge, after all. But when she heard his voice respond, she was somewhat relieved. 

"Well..." She tried her very best to project her voice as loud as she could. It was a good job not may people were out walking at that time of night. "You're stood on the top of a very tall building! You're... Not gonna jump, are you!?"

He furrowed his brow as he stared down. Wait... jump?? Did she just ask him if he was going to jump?!

"How dare- NO! I am NOT going to jump, you silly...! Why the heavens would I even think of doing such a thing?!" he snapped down to her with indigence as he watched her. Who did this woman think she was? Asking if he was going to jump. Why, the nerve! The gall! He had better things to do than stand here and yell back and forth with this woman. He had a new robot to create!

"Well gee I dunno!" She yelled so loud it almost hurt her throat. "Maybe because you're stood on the top of a very tall building with no safety precaustions!?" She stared up at the figure, still concerned despite him cleary pleading innocence. "You're not going to, are you? I don't think I can catch you from there. We'd both end up as pancakes!"

The thought of witnessing a death on top of what just happened didn't sit too well with her at all. The police were only a few blocks away, should she signal for them? But if she did, what if that was what tipped him over the edge? She'd never be able to live with herself knowing she'd caused it!

What? He had just given her an answer! Was it not enough? Was she dense?!

"No! I am not going to jump, nor do I plan to! I am out here to- agh!" He snapped as he turned on his heel and headed back towards his labs. He had better things to do than stand out here and argue with this woman about whether or not he had plans to jump. As if he were to commit suicide. Pah! The notion alone was enough to make him laugh. No. He would not jump. He had far too much to accomplish yet, before death could take him. Far too much indeed. Now... To get to work on a new robot. He had a few ideas after all, that needed to come to light.

She watched as he moved out of sight. Well, that was a relief. She was very happy that he wasn't a jumper and that if he had have been she may have thwarted the attempt. He did seem convincing, though. Heck, he sounded almost offended by the idea.

She breathed a sigh of relief and gathered herself back together to make her way back home. It was way past the time she should have been back. She'd have missed her favourite shows, that was for sure.

\---

That night, Rachel ate a very late meal, cleaned up for bed and lay herself down ready to go to sleep, the events of the day playing back in her brain. She hoped that no one was hurt in the robot attack and that Astro wasn't in too much trouble. He'd done a service as far as she could see. And that man? Whoever he was, she hoped he was OK. Maybe he was a fan of Astro's? He could have just been watching the fight...

Maybe one day she'd find out...

As for Dr. Tenma, he was in a sour mood after the day's activities. Sure, he had gathered sufficient data from the fight, but that woman! To accuse him of being a jumper? Preposterous! Who did she think she was?

He ate his dinner in silence, nearly stewing as he drew up his prints of his newest invention with frantic fervor.

After he finished his dinner, he showered and dressed into his sleepwear. Something he didn't often do at all these days, but he was fuming and needed to practice some self-care. Thoughts of the accusations were still on his mind as he shimmied down into the blankets. No. He couldnt let it cloud his mind. He had other things to worry about. He had to get a good nights rest. He had to be at top of his game tomorrow. He had a robot to build after all and it not do well to linger.

What... had she even struck such a cord with him? No. Impossible. Such presumption! He would put it, and her, out of his mind and that was that!

\---

The following morning, Rachel awoke for another day at the shop. She trudged lazily through the small apartment she owned and scratched her head as she fished around for her toothbrush with her other hand. Her mouth tasted and felt like a sandpit. It must have been the coffee she'd had on the way home. She'd tried a new blend.

Once she was ready, she made her way back outside and wandered her way to the shop. Along the way, she stopped to peer up at the Eagle building. Nothing. Silence. No one was there. It was a good thing, right? Right.

She continued on and began her shift. It was pretty straightforward. The usual regular customers coming in and out, new people trying the place out and holding up the queue as they decided on what they wanted and then there were the old people who seemed intent on talking to every human in the store for hours at a time.

She swore, one more story about the price of butter and she was going to lose it!

The day wore on and it was very uneventful. The only interesting thing that had actually happened was Bryson, one of her co-workers, had somehow managed to spill hot soy milk down his trousers and one of the worker bots kept insisting on rubbing it off. It was hilarious, but when that was the highlight of the day Rachel knew there was something wrong. She would just be glad to get home.

Ah. Home. 

\---

It had been a long and busy day for Dr. Tenma, however. He had began assembly of his newest invention, managed to make real progress on it, despite his rough night the previous. It was all he could do to keep his mind off it. No. He had a mission.

After making quite a few break throughs, being quite content with his progress, Dr. Tenma found himself up on the roof once more, just staring out at the city, his hands in his trouser pockets as he contemplated his next move. His next experiment would be ready within the next week. This one should prove to be more of a challenge of Astro. Then he could perhaps properly gauge his abilities.

Rachel was just leaving work and she waved to her colleagues, both human and robot, as she left the store with her coffee in hand. She made her way down the familiar streets and reached the park and the bench she had been at the previous night. Something in the back of her mind told her to look up.

There he was again. His coat billowing in the wind. At least, she assumed it was a coat. Oh no, what if he was one of those crazy cosplayers?

"Don't do it!" She couldn't help herself. Only, this time she added a playful tone to her voice so it was obvious she was joking.

Tenma was deep in thought. His eyes were closed as he felt the warm, gentle breeze kiss his face. Any normal person would feel absolutely at ease... But he was not normal, was he? No. As he heard the voice carried up on the breeze, his eyes shot open before he looked down at the feminine dot. Oh. It was her. Maybe if he ignored her, she would go away? He wouldn't react. Not even a little. He closed his eyes once more as he attempted to ignore the little voice.

She chuckled and moved to sit on the bench, occasionally looking up to see if he was still there. After a few moments, she shouted up to him again, hoping the breeze wasn't making her too hard to hear.

"What's it like up there? I bet you can see for miles! It's a decent view here, but I can imagine up there is even better. Is that why you're up there? Do you stand there a lot?"

She'd never noticed him before, but then again she'd never really looked up at the Eagle building before. The place gave her a case of the whim-whams, if truth be told and she felt like looking at it would cause her to get haunted or something. It was entirely irrational.

Tenma was about to turn around and head back in when he heard the voice once more. What was that? What was it like? No. He would not dignify an answer. Who did this woman think she was? Why did she insist on speaking to him? What part of his person welcomed her unwanted banter? He would not answer her. With any luck his plan would work. If he ignored her, she would go away.

She allowed the silence. She didn't even know if he could hear her again. After a few moments, she looked back down to the park ahead of her and just enjoyed the city skyline. She watched as robots milled around cleaning the debris from the fight the previous evening, people driving home from a days work and people generally enjoying themselves even late in the evening as it was.

She eventually looked back up to the building. He was still there. What did he do up there? Perhaps it was his idea of a break. Maybe he was just doing exactly what she was doing. Lucky SOB having such a nice vantage point.

"Hey! If you're here tomorrow, I'll bring you something from the shop if you want!"

Tenma nearly rolled his eyes as he turned and headed back into the Eagle. Curious. This woman had no idea who he was and yet she insisted on speaking with him. Even offering something. But why? What would she have to gain? Maybe she was a spy? That was it. She had to be. Trying to gain his trust. Well. He would just see about that. Perhaps he could gain the upperhand. Yes... 

As he walked down to the room he was using to sleep, he already began formulating a plan in his brain.

Silence. Well, that figured. She wouldn't push it. She just wante dto be sure he was OK. She couldn't shake the jumper idea from her mind, after all.

She peered back down at the park with a smile and finished her coffee before she stood up and made her way back home for yet another night of TV and sleep. The following day's work was going to be on of the busiest of the week. It always was, so she needed to get to bed as soon as her favourite show finished.

\---

The next day Tenma had made a bit more progress in his labs. His robot would be finished soon and then he could unleash it onto the city.

It was out of pure curiosity that he found himself on the roof of his domain once more. He would see just what this woman was playing at. This time, however, he was ready. He had his special canine unit down, waiting in the shadows. He did not plan on having a screaming back and forth today. No. That was just too ridiculous. This was a much smarter way.

He was curious just what she planned to bring to him.  
Her shift ended up being a lot busier than she'd expected. It was almost non-stop and she felt exhausted.

She wearily hung up her apron in the back and moved to the counter again to collect her drinks.

"Woah hey, two this time?" Marie, a younger woman with blonde hair tied into two plaits, leaned forward and pointed at Rachel's two cups of coffee. "Something you're not telling us?"

Bryson, a ginger young lad with purple highlights in his hair and thick rimmed glasses leaned from around the milk frothing unit and raised a brow. "What?"

"Rach's got a secret man."

"What? No I don't!"

"Oh! Sorry, woman."

"Marie! NO!"

Bryson grinned as he too noticed the two cups. "Well, be sure to fill us in."

"Both of you can... Shove it." She stomped out. Of course, she wasn't actually mad, it was all playful banter. The trio always interacted in such a light-hearted manner.

She slowly made her way to the bench and instantly looked up. There he was as expected. In one way, it was kinda fun to have something consistent. Sure, he was not a conversationalist, but it was interesting. She took a deep breath and yelled.

"Got you a coffee. I didn't know what you liked, so I brought along extra stuff!"

Tenma sent one of his canine robots over to her, he could finally see her clearly. She was a short female, not unattractive, around five feet and a half in height. He furrowed his brow as she spoke. Coffee? How could she drink such foul.... Well. He supposed she just needed to be educated on the proper beverages. 

As soon as the robot dog appeared it took everything within her to not throw the coffee everywhere in sheer shock and punt the thing out of the intense fight or flight response she as faced with. 

"Thank you, but if you insist on bringing me a beverage you might as well get it correct. Camomile tea and if you must sweeten it, use some honey." His words came through the robot as his canine took the beverage regardless with a small tentacle-like appendage from its collar.

Her skin prickled, but she stood her ground and as soon as she heard the voice, she somewhat relaxed.

He had a robot dog, huh? Lucky. It was very unique. Normally they were pretty dumb looking. Mostly for kids entertainment. This one? Looked mean and state of the art.

"O-Oh. I uh... She stared down at the red eyes on the bot, holding out the drink. "I'll... Remember that. We make amazing teas at the store. We have them all grown and harvested out the back."

The bot bounded away and headed up to the roof with the cup. It would be rude not to accept it after all. As soon as Tenma took ahold of it, he took a sip and even he had to admit that the bean water was not at all as terrible as what he had previously consumed. 

Rachel watched as the robot effortlessly traversed the building and made its way back up to its owner. It was effortless and she had to admit that it was impressive tech. She could use something like that in her daily life. Too bad she could never afford it on her salary.

He sent his canine back down to her so that she would not have to yell up to him again. He realized how much attention that could bring to him and he would rather....not have to deal with that. It was bad enough with her.

"Thank you." 

She watched as the robot dog jumped its way back down again and approached. She had to admit, it was pretty intimidating to look at. She was glad it didn't make any sudden movements towards her, or she was sure she'd probably flee in sheer terror.

"Uh... Yeah sure, no problem."

The canine retreated into the shadows and Tenma back into his lab. 

He would see her again. The next day. He wanted to see this unfold. He wanted to sre just what this woman was up to. What were her plans? What did she hope to accomplish?

She watched as it moved back into the shadows. He'd sent it down just for a thank you? Well, at least he had manners. Even if he'd picked fault at her choice. She was always told as a kid 'beggars can't be choosers', to be grateful for whatever you were given and to not be fussy. But at least he'd thanked her.

She looked up again, but he'd vanished from view. What a strange person. The fact he had such advanced tech must have meant he was well off. Maybe he was just an eccentric? Must have been...

She got up and made her way back home, oddly pleased with herself for having done it. It was only a cup of coffee, but she felt somewhat accomplished for getting some sort of reaction in return.


End file.
